As computer technology has advanced, the role of computers in our daily lives has expanded, as has the need for various peripheral support devices. One typical peripheral device used with computers is a printer, which generates hard copies of electronic data. The types and capabilities of available printers are also expanding, resulting in a variety of printers with a range of printing capabilities, performance, and price.
One significant expansion in the use of computer technology is the networking of computers. The networking of computers allows the interconnected computers to communicate with one another, as well as with other devices, such as printers. As computer networks, such as the Internet, continue to develop, there is an increasing demand for additional and improved functions that expand and exploit the potential of computer networks.
Despite the printing facilities now available due to computer networking, there still is a need for efficient and convenient printing services, as well as efficient printing resource management. Although some printing solutions exist, each is lacking in one respect or another.
For example, with one such solution, entire documents to be printed must be uploaded to a remote service to determine an appropriate fee for printing the document. This uploading can be time-consuming, particularly for large documents, and wasteful where the user determines not to print the document because he or she considers the expense too great or the capabilities of the remote service lacking.
Concerning print solution management, operators of network connected computing devices are often presented multiple print destination devices for each print task associated with a particular application. Often operators are unaware of the respective print rates and other capabilities of the various available printing devices. The resulting lack of information regarding the capabilities of the available printing devices can often lead to unnecessary operator frustration caused by frequent printing bottlenecks and repeat tasking of misrouted print jobs.